Hello, Everyone!

Last night, I sat through a three-and-a-half hour version of The Marriage of Figaro done in Russian by a cast of new immigrants in a random storefront theatre, all because their souls wanted to create some art. And you know what?

It was great.

But I will say, staring down the barrel of three-and-a-half hours and having the squirms for about the first hour, I realized afterward how important theatre is to remembering how to sit and focus and use our imaginations.

I'm taking a break from social media and the news because I've decided its really bad for my brain. As one person put it, it's like having a slot machine in your pocket, ready to give a dopamine hit with every scroll. And, like Vegas, the house always wins. So, I deleted all my apps, logged out, cleared my cookies, and you know what? It feels like vacation. If anyone else is interested in what I did, The Guardian offers a great (and free!) Reclaim Your Brain program. Micro Journaling was also a game changer and the "how to" can be found in this video by Struthless.

But what does this mean for you? Well, it means all that energy I used to put into posting is now going to happen here. Heck, I might even restart my blog. It also means that some of those long stalled projects are getting off the backburner.

I had a little time to kill before the show yesterday and discovered this coffee roaster called Mercurys Coffee. They had cream-filled croissants the size of my head and one of the top three cups of coffee I've ever had in my life (#1 was Susina's Bakery in Los Angeles before an improv class, #2 was Mukilteo Coffee from a coffee cart in a bait shop while waiting for a ferry. This was #3.) It was 6PM and the coffee shop was full, spinning alt-rock tunes to the sound of coffee beans being ground and gentle chatter. And I opened up my laptop and started to write. And, hey! Here I am this morning writing to you! Hello, you!

All this is to say, unplug! I'll be spinning alt-socials here in my newsletter. You can hear about how great my monologue went at SOLO Act at the NW2 Festival at ACT Contemporary Theatre went. With pictures!

My monologue, The Enigma, performed by Lindsay Welliver and directed by Jasmine Lomax

Or you can hear about how I finished a play called Monster Manor for middle schools (and is available to license if you're a middle school teacher!)

Or that, yes, Maggie MacKay and Paige Comber are both coming back in 2025.

Or you might just get my musings. Things like, go see some theatre and do your brain good. Patronize your local indie coffee shop and bring friends. Make your life so wonderful that you don't need to escape it.

And I hope you find a way to make today better than yesterday.

Your friend,

Kate